ENTERING a hotel room to meet all five Girls Aloud, might seem like walking into a viper’s den of candid opinion and lairy behaviour if tabloid stories are true, but the truth is much more civilised. Lounging around on sofas having just finished their lunch, the girls could be any quintet of close friends.

Made up of Cheryl Cole, Nadine Coyle, Sarah Harding, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh, Girls Aloud are feeling nervous about their new album.

Kimberley explains: "It’s not a new thing, we get nervous about everything," the Bradford-born lass says. "We just still really care. Everything has gone great so far, but we still worry. Because things have gone so well for us, we want to keep that level up and improve if anything. That’s quite a high expectation, so we end up putting a lot of pressure on ourselves."

This new album then, Tangled Up...

Nadine, in her thick Northern Irish brogue, says: "The songs are all in the same vein, whereas the others have been quite random. It’s more mature, definitely," adds Sarah, briefly lifting her head from slumber.

So how does a Girls Aloud album take shape?

It starts with a chat with songwriter Brian Higgins, mainman of the Xenomania production group. He and his small team are responsible for all Girls Aloud songs.

One by one, the girls go to Higgins’ house-cum-studio and tell him all about what’s been happening since their last album. They talk relationships, feelings...

"It’s not like an interview," says Kimberley. "We know him so well that we can talk to him about anything. He just wants to know whatever’s. He’s like a sixth member I guess!"

Nicola adds: "Brian takes inspiration from all that, so it’s important he’s up to date with where we are."

After that, songs are written, demos are recorded and ideas are swapped. Normally, a Girls Aloud album will be recorded in a matter of weeks, but Tangled Up took much longer. "It took six months, which is a long time for us," explains Kimberley.

They love current single Call The Shots, while Can’t Speak French, rumoured to be the next release, is a particular favourite of Cheryl’s.

"It gives me goosebumps that song, I love it," she beams. "I can’t speak French although I did go out with a French boy for a little while, so I got some CDs to learn the language."

The album also features a number of songwriting credits for the girls, building on the handful of B-sides and album tracks they’ve contributed beforehand.

"We never got into this industry to be brilliant lyricists," says Cheryl, "but recently we’ve felt more comfortable with writing bits and pieces."

Thrown together as winners of Popstars: The Rivals, the girls gelled as a band and have gone on to break chart records. When their last single Sexy! No No No hit the Top 10, they also entered the Guinness Book Of Records as the most successful female group in UK chart history.